How Does Montag Change In Fahrenheit 451

Montag’s Wife, Mildred, is a negative influence on him, trying to push him away emotionally and physically. She does not know who she really is and lives in an illusionary world with her obsession of television shows and believing they are real. He is so confused because she tries to ignore it ever happened thinking about all the bad things; “fire, sleeping tablets, men disposable tissue, coattails, blow, wad, flush...Rain. The storm. The uncle laughing...The whole world pouring down..." (19). After this incident he looks at Mildred in a different light and is someone who he can’t relate to. Another way she separates herself from Montag is through her "family", which is a television show. Montag constantly asks Millie “[if that] family loves [her]… love [her] with all their heart and soul" (83). Her world isn’t based in reality; they are clearly on different paths. Hers is one of illusion and his is becoming that of a totally self-aware person. She blocks everything and everyone out that is around her and lives within the show. Mildred opens Montag 's eyes to the real world and shows him that most people are uncaring and narcissistic.

Because he asks Mildred where they met, and he takes time to think about where they met and but can't remember. Part one also shows Mildred someone who is so miserable that her only escape from the real world is by watching TV all day in her parlor room, she has also attempted suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. The Author gives us a smart character named Clarisse, who is honesty, loves living her life, She is curious about other people, pays really good attention, is very social. Clarisse is almost like the opposite of Mildred who doesn't do much but watch tv and overdose. But Clarisse gets hit by a speeding car. Throughout the story so far Montag realizes society isn't all perfect, as many think that it is. What helps him discover this is his friendship with Clarisse and the old lady burning herself and her house. Montag finds a sense of interest to think he shows this by thinking about where him and Mildred first met he thought about and was curious enough to ask his wife, and by talking to Clarisse, talking to her helped make him think about the society he lives

Mildred's influenced Montag in a negative way. For example Montauk walked into the bedroom and kicked "[an] empty sleeping pill bottle that was full at the start of the day" showing that Mildred taken all of the pills in the bottle.(13) Mildred she would rather take pills and not think which Montag grew to abhor. As we often do when we sleep "Mildred slept with seashells in her ears" just like the radio or the tv we leave on when we sleep.(13) As many of us do today she spends much of her time watching tv or listening to a device unconnected to a social life.

Montag, conditioned to obey and conform, does not question the government's narrative or seek to uncover the truth behind the ban on books. Furthermore, Montag's personal relationships and interactions with others in his society contribute to his ignorance of the flaws in his world. His wife, Mildred, is a perfect example of the conformist mindset that pervades society. Mildred is more interested in her interactive parlor walls and seashell radios than in meaningful human connections or intellectual pursuits. Her shallow existence mirrors the emptiness and superficiality of the society in which they live, reinforcing Montag's complacency and lack of awareness.

In the midst of Montag’s self-discovery Millie was still willing to put her popularity status among her friends over her husband. After a confusing day of reading Mildred invited her friends over and allowed them to criticize him. “You’re nasty, Mr. Montag, you’re nasty!”(Bradbury 107). Rather than standing up for Montag she stood by her friends and later even turned him into the fire station. “Was it my wife who turned in the alarm? Beatty nodded”(Bradbury 117). Mildred was so heartless and disconnected to her real family she was willing to sell out her own husband without thinking of what would happen to Montag. As she left her home moments before its destruction the only thing she was upset about was her TV family. Mildred’s character perfectly represents the archetype of a cold wife as she is deceitful, unloving, materialistic, and

Montag stops and slaps her, causing her to cry. The presence of the books stresses the mass’s fear of possessing books because they believe that books are a threat to human happiness by feeding them knowledge. As for Mildred, she feels

Now I’ve had it proven to me. You’re nasty, Mr. Montag, you’re nasty!”(97). That quote is the reaction of one of Mildred's friends after Montag tried to experiment with something about his curiosity about why people don’t like books. Just because Montag read a small section of a poetry book, people think he is an awful person now. That shows you how horrible people think books are and why Montag wants to change the situation.

Montag says to Mildred, “Let you alone! That’s all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be left alone. We need to be bothered once in awhile. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?”(55-56). His head-strong attitude and stubbornness shine through with this quote. He wants people to get bothered, he wants them to have a reaction. If that is what he wants, he will stop at nothing to get that. He brings up controversial topics throughout the book just to get a reaction from people because he thinks that is what should happen for the world to be right. We wants to stand for something and wants everyone else to as well. Montag’s head-strong attitude is very important throughout the story with how he makes his decisions, but also his intelligence is what makes him aware of what is right and how he makes the

Mildred’s friends reaction was filled with anger and sadness. Montag tried to kick them out because they didn’t understand how books were helpful, and he was sick of the world filled with ignorant people.

Montag desperately tries to convince Mildred that books would be the start to end their internal suffering, but she is unwilling to alter her view on her lifestyle. He tries to show her that how they are currently living is not good for either of them. When Montag is convincing Mildred, Mildred’s inability to realize the positive change books would have on her causes her and Montag’s relationship to end. “See what you’re doing? You’ll ruin us!

“That’s awful! ...Why should I read? What for?”(Bradbury, 73) Mildred hates the fact that her house and her ‘family’ would burn down if Beatty and the other firemen found out about Montag and his books. Mildred doesn’t understand why Montag wants to reason with her and what he finds so special in books. Mildred is a selfish woman who cares only about herself and her friends. As long as nothing happened to her ‘family’, she’d be fine.

For example, this event takes place after Montag had revealed the book to Mildred that he got from the woman's home. “‘You weren’t there, you didn’t see,” he said. “‘ There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing” (51). This quote shows that Montag is willing to understand why the woman decided to stay in the house. He is also realizing that there must be something important in the books and foreshadows that Montag will change as a person for the better, while Mildred does not care about the books and thinks that the woman deserved to die it also shows that she is a shallow person. The author did this to show a critical moment in which Montag will start making decisions for himself and no longer follow blindly and will stop being a good person that stands by and does nothing. Mildred as the opposite shows that she will always be the same person, someone who is apathetic,simplistic, out of touch with reality, and not inclined to change for the better. This is important for the readers to know seeing as this is a moment that will foreshadow the future showing that a character like Montag stuck following society's restricting rules

As Montag mentions to his wife, Mildred, about setting fire to a house while knowing there was a woman inside, she shows a lack of empathy and does not appear to care “‘Let me alone,’ said Mildred. ‘I didn’t do anything’. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long has it been since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?’”

Now on both of their behalves they really did not have the same view into the dystopian society. Montag believed it was wrong to burn books, and Mildred did not care about nothing including Montag and them books. “It is easy to read the women in Fahrenheit 451 as stock, one-dimensional characters, set up only to illustrate the opposite poles between which Montag struggles.” Montag does not realize he struggles to see the differences in him and women. “Although Montag has not yet recognized the problem with this reduction of happiness to a step below hedonism, a kind of vicarious hedonism, in which even sensation is often artificially provided, Beatty seems aware of it." Beatty realizes something different before Montag has the chance to. “Before Montag can begin to recognize his connection to others and to his inhuman society, however, he needs to reconnect with himself, reestablish his relationship with the world.”

Montag feels at the begining of the novel that the communication is greatly lacking in society. People are becoming very ignorant and turning reallife realationships aside. They now turn to their "tv families". One victim of neglecting real life realtionships is Mildred, Montag's wife. Montag truley hates this. "Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read." (2.125). Montag hopes that his wife and him can rejoin their connection through the books, but is sadly wrong and must find some one else, Faber.